India is poised to become a climate leader, but is it up to the task? - New Scientist
India is poised to become a climate leader, but is it up to the task? | New Scientist
Solar power is on the rise in India Rebecca Conway/Getty Images
Solar power is on the rise in India
Rebecca Conway/Getty Images
“The entire world is watching us,” said India’s prime minister Narendra Modi in a speech at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai late last year. “Mother Earth is looking toward us to protect her future. We have to succeed.” This call for climate action was meant to be a global one, but it could have applied to India alone, as the world’s most populous country increasingly sets the course for our climate future.
India is now the world’s third largest annual emitter…
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”